Missing Titanic Plaque Found In Spain

Back in 1909, the great ship, the RMS Titanic began construction. By this time, her big sister, RMS Olympic was already completed, and on her way to being fitted out. The world would never be the same, especially once the Titanic was built, launched, and then ultimately sank. However, once this great ship was complete, there was a special ceremony, and a special plaque was made to commemorate the occasion. However, once the Titanic was launched, and then sank, everyone was so shocked by the tragedy, that the plaque was soon forgotten. But now, over 100 and three years since the great ship, Titanic went down, this lost piece of history has once again been found, and in a place no one expected it to be, the country of Spain.

The History of the Titanic Plaque

The main question that everyone is asking is where did this special plaque come from? The answer is that the Royal Main Steamship Union was behind the creation of the plaque. The description of it is a silver and bronze plaque that is rectangle in shape. The measurements of the plaque are that it is 11 inches by 14 and a half inches. Because it is made of both silver and bronze, the plaque is a little on the heavy side weighing a little over four pounds. The plaque also bears the name. “White Star Line,” and reads, “First sailing of the latest addition to the White Star fleet, The Queen of the Ocean.” The name Titanic is present, and also gives her length at 882.6 feet, over 45,000 tons, triple screws, and her beam, which is listed as 92.6 feet. The date on the plaque is April 10th, 1912, which is the day it departed from Southampton on its way to New York City. There is also a light bulb, which is located inside the plaque behind the word Titanic. The plaque was presented to Lord William James Pirrie, who wa the chairman of Harland and Wolff, the Titanic’s builder. After Pirrie got the plaque, it hung in his office, but after that, what happened to the plaque was a mystery.

The Rediscovery of the Titanic Plaque

From the wall of Lord Pirrie’s office, how the plaque vanished from there, and reappeared in Spain, is a mystery. However, back in 2003, a man in Britain had possession of the plaque and tried to sell it to an art gallery in the city of Barcelona. The gallery owner’s son, a man named Leo Lorenzo Sancho, who had an interest in Titanic history, saw the plaque, bought it, and hung it in his home. However, Sancho decided to share his plaque with the world, and offered on loan it to the Titanic Foundation, which was putting together a Titanic exhibition in the city of Granada. The foundation gladly took possession of the plaque, and has agreed to show it in their Titanic exhibition that will run until January of 2016.

As of right now, Sancho has only agreed to lend his plaque for the exhibition, and despite many offers of money, this very special plaque is not for sale. It is amazing that this plaque has been found after the Titanic sank more than a century ago, and the world will get to appreciate it. What is more amazing is the fact the plaque made it from Belfast, Ireland all the way to Spain. However, experts at the Spanish Titanic Foundation has gone over the plaque carefully, and verified its authenticity. After January 2016, it is unclear where the plaque will end up, or if Leo Sancho would consider loaning it to other Titanic museums, or if it will ever cross the ocean and be on display in America. It is also amazing how the Titanic still continues to make headlines 103 years after she sank, and now historians and enthusiasts of the unsinkable ship are overjoyed that another piece of her history has been found, and is on display. There is no word on what the Titanic Historical Society in America has to say about this discovery, but hopefully, it can come to America to one of the bigger museums like Branson, Missouri or Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Hopefully, a documentary will be made about this amazing plaque, so some of the mystery of its existence, and journey to Spain, can be researched, and hopefully, explained.

Recent Posts

The Sad Story

Under the command of Edward Smith, the ship leaved Southampton with 2224 passengers aboard, including some of the wealthiest people in the world, as well as hundreds of poor emigrants from Europe seeking a new life in North America. The ship had advanced safety features, but there were not enough lifeboats to accommodate all of those aboard. Only 1,178 people can be carried in lifeboats.

Four days into the crossing and about 375 miles (600 km) south of Newfoundland, she hit an iceberg at 11:40 pm ship's time. The glancing collision caused Titanic's hull plates to buckle inwards along her starboard side and opened five of her sixteen watertight compartments to the sea; the ship gradually filled with water. Meanwhile, passengers and some crew members were evacuated in lifeboats, many of which were launched only partly loaded.

By 2:20 AM, the giant ship broke apart and foundered, with over 1000 people still aboard. Just under two hours after the sinking, the Cunard liner RMS Carpathia arrived and brought aboard about 705 survivors.

Small Numbers

74: The number of years it took to find the wreck of the Ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

64 : The number of lifeboats supposed to be aboard the ship.

20 : The number of lifeboats she actually carried.

65: Maximum capacity of a lifeboat.

28 : The number of people on board the first lifeboat.

2 : The number of workers killed during the construction process.

Now On Sale

The Unsinkable Ship !

Who doesn’t know about Titanic? The famous British ship that was designed to be unsinkable, but it finally sank on 15 April 1912 after colliding with an iceberg during its long trip from Southampton, UK to New York City, US. About 1,500 people died, and the largest ship made at the time led to one of the biggest disasters in modern history.